Board is a DH67BL with an i5-2500K and Noctua NH-U9B SE2. The heatsink fan overhangs the two DIMM slots nearest the CPU, though my Kingston KVR DIMMs are pretty low profile and fit with plenty of room to spare.

Nice pictures!

Did you pick the 92 mm cooler model in case the 120 mm one wouldn't clear the side panel? I've got the bigger Noctua and the clearance is barely a few millimetres.

Did you pick the 92 mm cooler model in case the 120 mm one wouldn't clear the side panel? I've got the bigger Noctua and the clearance is barely a few millimetres.

My initial preference was a Hyper 212 Plus but I read one user report that the fit was so tight it left impresssions in the side panel sound dampening material, despite Fractal's claim of compatibility with coolers up to 165mm height (the 212 Plus is 159.5mm high). I guess it could work but I wasn't comfy with it, and that ruled out pretty much every tower with a 120mm fan (though based on your report maybe it would have been fine). Considered Zalman's 150mm tower but it didn't have great low airflow performance in the SPCR review.

Can see there's ample of room at the top and rear for a big top-down cooler like the NH-C12P SE14, but I wanted to leave as much room as possible to allow for the option to use a fanless graphics card with an over-the-back heatsink. The DH67BL/NH-U9B combo leaves about 25mm between the bottom edge of the heatsink and top edge of the PCI-E slot. However, one unforeseen problem is the wires that hold the Noctua fan in place, which jut out and reduce the clerance to about 15mm near the right edge of the PCI-E slot.

The choice of CPU cooler was indeed the biggest pain when it came to selecting components due to the clearance uncertainties, and apart from that I don't like the idea of unwieldy heatsinks thanks to painful installation and removal experiences that are seared into my memory from over a decade ago, so I ended up going with the conservative option. These were some of the pics I'd found on the web while trying to make a guesstimate of clearances:

I should have specified that I only have the specs to judge clearance by. I put my case swap on hold because of my doubts.

At first I was confident the bigger Noctua tower would fit, but then I read negative experiences regarding real-world installations. It seems dB numbers aren't the only specs you can't trust. Glad I didn't make the plunge blind when I had doubts, as I'm not about to retire my old Noctua just to be able to use a new case. Strikes me as odd that the case design makes sure to allow for maximum-size video cards but not regular 120 mm CPU coolers, but there you go - still no perfect case to be found.

I just got my case and successfully moved my computer over. I can confirm that my Mugen 2 (158mm) does not seem to touch the foam on the side, as it doesn't leave any impressions. Because of the side vent, there is an additional block of foam there that juts out further into the case than the regular foam. I suspect this may affect the clearance of certain motherboard and cooler configurations (on the ASUS P8P67m I have, the heatsink location does not seem to overlap with the vent. If concern about the foam impacting the heatsink is a concern, I suppose one could remove the foam from the vent, as if to install a fan, but this would likely increase the noise from the system.

Thought I'd throw my recently assembled system pics up since there were only a couple on the web when I was researching clearances etc prior to purchase. Nothing really special here but it's the first time I've assembled a full desktop since my Antec 3700-BQE based system eight years ago, so I was kinda excited about my little back-to-the-future journey after years with various SFF and laptop systems.

Pics are high res for those who like a good stickybeak. Board is a DH67BL with an i5-2500K and Noctua NH-U9B SE2. The heatsink fan overhangs the two DIMM slots nearest the CPU, though my Kingston KVR DIMMs are pretty low profile and fit with plenty of room to spare.

Idle temps after 24/7 running in 18-21C ambient temp with the Noctua and two front Fractal fans all at around 650 RPM are:

CPU: 33PCH: 61VR: 35RAM: 34HD0 (3.5): 30HD1 (2.5): 26

It seems you didn't install the 2nd fan on the Noctua (rear). Any particular reason for that?Did you use the low noise or ultra low noise adapters?

This is the exact case I was looking to buy for a Database Server I need to build for a personal project. For those that have it, any advice on particular HeatSinks, or can you give a better idea of clearance? I am going to attempt to run cooled solely by the exhaust fans (65W CPU, no Video Card) but have no idea what sort of Tower Cooler will realistically fit.

i currently own a lian-li 354 which has a very noise hard disk cages (is the only noise I heard from it and I tried to do some tweaking with no success) and i'm not able to leave it on during nights (it is placed a six metres from me). Is the defini mini more silent?

This is the exact case I was looking to buy for a Database Server I need to build for a personal project. For those that have it, any advice on particular HeatSinks, or can you give a better idea of clearance? I am going to attempt to run cooled solely by the exhaust fans (65W CPU, no Video Card) but have no idea what sort of Tower Cooler will realistically fit.

We have now updated our specification to saying that the Define Mini officially supports tower coolers with 160mm height. We had 165mm before, but it will then conflict with the Moduvent w/ foam on the side panel. In some occurences, it is still possible to mount a cooler higher than 160mm, but we can't officially say it's so.

This is the exact case I was looking to buy for a Database Server I need to build for a personal project. For those that have it, any advice on particular HeatSinks, or can you give a better idea of clearance? I am going to attempt to run cooled solely by the exhaust fans (65W CPU, no Video Card) but have no idea what sort of Tower Cooler will realistically fit.

We have now updated our specification to saying that the Define Mini officially supports tower coolers with 160mm height. We had 165mm before, but it will then conflict with the Moduvent w/ foam on the side panel. In some occurences, it is still possible to mount a cooler higher than 160mm, but we can't officially say it's so.

Thank you for the clarification, now we know for sure what configuration the design is meant for.

I've got the Define Mini with the stock fans, using the included fan controller. Running a Core i5-2500K at stock speeds and stock cooler, it's almost dead silent from a meter away. Thanks to the quiet case fans, the HDD bushings, and the bitumen coating, the stock CPU HSF is definitely the loudest thing in the case. I'm shoving a Cooler Master Hyper 212+ into it tonight, so we'll see how whisper quiet I can get this. I have a feeling that I wouldn't know that it's on without seeing the (very bright) blue light on the front. I think my only gripe is that the quality of parts of the front panel doesn't match the quality of the rest of the case, but that's minor. Bravo Fractal Design.

This is the exact case I was looking to buy for a Database Server I need to build for a personal project. For those that have it, any advice on particular HeatSinks, or can you give a better idea of clearance? I am going to attempt to run cooled solely by the exhaust fans (65W CPU, no Video Card) but have no idea what sort of Tower Cooler will realistically fit.

I was reading over this looking for a case for my next build, and I happen to have experience in that area. I have run a 65w Pentium E5200 and Core 2 Quad Q8400 (95w!) in a NSK3480, with rear fan only (Scythe slipstream PWM). The CPU cooler I used was the Xigmatek HDT-S1283. I used the E5200 for over a year, not a single overheating issue, and I've had the Q8400 about 2 years, no heat issues even while gaming with a ATI HD4670 passive. This Fractal case has a much better airflow path, so I suspect it would do ok as well. They have some models designed for 120mm fans that are only 160mm high such as the HDT-S126384.

The back fan definitely spins up when the GPU is running full throttle in games, but not during typical usage since the GPU is in power saving mode.

Upgrade I'm considering:i5-2405skeep ATI HD6850Fractal R3 or mini - should be quieter with fewer leaks and more damping than NSK3480MB - not surecooler - probably try stock cooler. From what I've seen, they're essentially silent as-is. If not, then I'll find a bigger tower and run fanless again

I can't wait to see a full SPCR review of this case. It may be the case which makes me NOT buy the Silverstone FT02. I love the concepts of FT02, but the Define Mini is half the weight, and I really don't think I need a full ATX MB. Hopefully Fractal Design will be sending a demo case ...Speaking of which, is there any sort of 'coming soon' list of SPCR articles?

Maybe the Fractal Design Representative that has posted on this thread can help you, to my knowledge, for the US, the only place you can get it is Newegg, or if you can get Ncix to ship it from canada, Fractal Design Define Mini mATX Computer Case.

Very precise work. No rough edges or brainfarts found, immaculate finish. Do not like superbright blue LED though, door should open 180 or even 270 degrees.

Weight is a good thing for silence, working compromise from mobility perspective (LAN parties). Panels feel like good acoustic elements, perform as such too.

Paint job excellent. Parts a bit stuck together until you move them in and out a few times. Black screw on black plate annoying to find, even when glossy on matte. White painted parts have nice texture and high quality feel.

Included screws are quality, no warped threads. Reusable zip ties too few and of inferior design though (hard plastic, tapering too wide, finicky release mechanism - need to be more elastic, tapered sharply, and quicker to release, see Antec Performance One series ties).

This last observation may be related to my setup only, but I find that there is a distinct thrum on the ModuVent side of the case. It is the sound of mechanical HDDs, no question, but the ModuVent side is bleeding it out. The sound is completely missing in front of the case and makes a very muted return on the non-ModuVent side. The area where the sound is audible is also more limited on the non-ModuVent side, but this may be due to better soundproofing on that side lowering the volume more than anything else.

All in all an excellent, solid case. Specs in signature. Would recommend for most builds in mATx.

All in all an excellent, solid case. Specs in signature. Would recommend for most builds in mATx.

It's nice, but it's so deep. I'd like to see a depth of around 35cm while keeping support for long GPUs.

The Mini is indeed not the smallest of the mATX bunch, same problem the P180 Mini has. At least it's straightforward and easy to work in though, i.e. not a puzzle like the SilverStone TJ08 (385 mm for the E) and GD05 (325! mm). I'm sure we'll see more of Fractal in the future, maybe they'll go even smaller after this (sort of) in-between model. It's certainly doable.

Hi guys, I'm working on my first build since 2007 where I used a Antec Solo to pretty good success in getting noise down.I am currently shopping between the Solo II and the Fractal Design Define Mini. The Fractal Design is about $30 cheaper locally.

Has anyone tried HDD suspension in the 3,5" bays!? Im going to buy this board with the Asus Gene Z mATX mb but hdd vibration might be a issue with the rubber gromets so im thinking of doing hdd suspension. Will the 3,5" bays work for this or is it too tight to get good decoupling from the frame/cage?

Has anyone tried HDD suspension in the 3,5" bays!? Im going to buy this board with the Asus Gene Z mATX mb but hdd vibration might be a issue with the rubber gromets so im thinking of doing hdd suspension. Will the 3,5" bays work for this or is it too tight to get good decoupling from the frame/cage?

I've seen someone here at SPCR post pictures of hard drives suspended in the 3,5" bays. Look around and you'll probably find it. You could also use 2,5" bays or suspend the 3,5" drive in the 5,25" bay. Perhaps using an aftermarket suspension solution?

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